Overwhelmed mail carrier faces sentencing

DETROIT, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A former letter carrier told a Detroit judge she stashed mail in a storage facility rather than ask for help in completing her appointed rounds.

Jill Hull pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in federal court after she put thousands of pieces of mail into storage rather than delivering them along her route in suburban Howell, the Detroit News said Wednesday.

"I was unable to deliver all of the mail," Hull told a federal magistrate on Tuesday. "Instead of asking for help ... I took it upon myself to place the mail in a storage facility."

Hull apparently couldn't keep up with her payment schedule, either. The cache of nearly 10,000 pieces of mail dating back to 2006 was found last fall when employees of the storage facility were preparing to auction off the contents.

The News said Hull had been facing a more-serious mail embezzlement charge, but would likely only get probation on the lesser count. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen allowed Hull to remain free pending a presentencing report.